Saskatchewan farmers are going to have a tough decision to make about whether to carry crop insurance this year, in light of premium increases of 52 per cent announced last week.

The premium hikes were announced shortly after Saskatchewan's Agriculture Minister Clay Serby signed on to the first part of the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) with the federal government. Serby told ag industry representatives that no money would have been forthcoming for the crop insurance program unless the province signed on to the APF.

The average producer paid a premium of $3.15 per acre in 2002 for crop insurance, and that will increase to $4.80 per acre in 2003, according to Saskatchewan Ag and Food.

The increase includes the impact of claims and program debt (a 33 per cent increase), the impact of commodity price increases (nine per cent) and the impact of coverage improvements (five per cent).

One of those representatives who met with Serby, Corning producer Cecilia Olver, vice-president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), suggested that the Crop Insurance Corporation could have taken a longer period to pay down the debt accrued from last year.

She said the deficit, combined with higher commodity prices and expanded coverage, was largely responsible for such a hefty price hike.

"In 1988 when we had a drought, they paid it off by 1991. It looks like they're going to try and pay it off right away. It's cyclical; what they need to do is use statistics, they could probably plan for the drought periods a little better," said Olver.

She added she understands the insurance plan has to be actuarily sound, but pointed out farmers will be paying nearly $5 an acre for inadequate insurance coverage.

"People are going to have a tough decision to make. There are going to be a portion of farmers who are going to take a gamble and not carry it," said Olver.

Some farmers aren't going to have much of a choice if they want to continue farming on their land, added Randi Ellis, the new provincial president of the Sask. Rally Group.

He noted his own crop insurance went up by 72 per cent last year, and will probably rise by a similar margin this year, but he has no choice but to buy it.

Ellis said he knows of a farmer who chose not to buy insurance last year, and now has about 500 acres of lentils still out in the field.

Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA Brenda Bakken said the Saskatchewan Party is going to press the government on this issue, with the throne speech delivered Tuesday to begin a new session of the Legislature.

"We're going to be asking how they can justify such a huge increase. Premiums have tripled since 2001; we see this as just another strike at rural Saskatchewan. We don't see that the prices are high enough to justify this much of an increase. It's not too late; there's no reason why they can't adjust this," said Bakken.

In making a joint announcement of the program, provincial minister Clay Serby and federal minister Lyle Vanclief said the 2003 program will provide farmers with better protection against crop loss.

The changes for the 2003 program include a number of new initiatives, including the Forage Rainfall Insurance program, which includes more weather stations across the province; annual crop weather-based insurance, which has more weather stations and a frost trigger; yield data; low price option, which offers coverage at 85 per cent of the base price; new organic crop premiums that reflect increased prices and a new reseeding benefit; individual crop enhancements, with improved coverage for dry beans, field peas and sweet clover; a diversification option, with an increased percentage of acreage covered; and CropConnect, a new pilot project that allows producers to calculate premiusm and coverage scenarios online.

Ellis said Vanclief backed Serby into a corner over the funding of crop insurance, and basically forced him into signing it. He noted the reinsurance agreement has been overdue with the federal government for over a year now; Serby was told to sign the APF not only to get funds for this year's crop insurance, but for the reinsurance program from last year.

The deadline for the Forage Rainfall Insurance program is Monday, March 31, and for all other crop insurance programs is Wednesday, April 30.